Dana White says Alistair Overeem lied to his face

Heavyweight Alistair Overeem’s already cloudy future got a bit darker yesterday when UFC President Dana White decided to publicly address the Dutchman’s status after a Tuesday hearing with the NSAC rendering the top contender unable to receive a license until late December. While White stopped short of outright releasing Overeem he certainly didn’t offer any votes of confidence either.

“I wasn’t very optimistic about his chances. I didn’t think that things were gonna turn out very well for him. As expected. Nine months? Nine months isn’t as bad as I thought it was gonna be. I thought he’d get a year. Easily a year,” began White while serving as a guest on The Jim Rome Show.

As has been well-documented, Overeem tested positive for a grossly elevated level of testosterone in his body at a random screening last month and was forced to withdraw from a headlining title-fight at UFC 146. His explanation for the result pertained to a doctor-prescribed medication he used without knowing it contained testosterone.

Though White was clearly upset about the situation it appeared the main issue he has with “The Demolition Man” doesn’t relate to the change in main event or even seeing Overeem out for the remainder of the year but rather a personal matter.

“I’m not a fan. I’m not a fan at all. You’re not gonna hear me today on your radio show defending Alistair Overeem, believe me,” stated an animated White.

“He sat down in a lunch with me and my partners, looked us in the face and said, ‘I’m the most tested athlete in all of sports. They can test me whenever they want to.’ He flew in for the press conference, they tested him and now he’s on a nine-month suspension. He claims that he was on anti-inflammatories, which he should have told them before he tested. I know he lied to me,” continued White, his anger building, even alluding to the possibility of even cutting professional ties with the polished striker. “I don’t like it. You know, you sit down and you have these guys that you do business with and you say, ‘Listen, be honest with me. What’s going on here? Let’s figure out how we can work together and how we can do business together.’ And if they’ll sit in front of you and lie to your face? I don’t know, not the kind of guys I want to do business with.”

I think the difference with Chael is a combination of him warning the commission ahead of time and the fact that he’s the best shit talker in the game. Other than that I agree completely. Have a set list of punishments for the offenses, period.

When this shit happens all of a sudden The fighters in a main event position become too important to lose them when the fight becomes in jeopordy because of there actions… Dana and company need to enforce a zero tolerance and not put these guys up on a pedestal because they are the main attraction or are the money maker for that event… when they fuck up just say good bye.

If you tell these guys deal with the commission and say to them the moment they get popped fuck you see you in a year and call out the next guy in line, then maybe these guys would be a bit more careful and serious about testing and being upfront about there medical conditions. Start making examples out of the big dawgs and it will set a fucking precedent that Zuffa takes no shit and they don’t need your shit so they will be moving on to the next fighter and you will be a distant memory until you come correct.
Instead these guys are in limbo for months and weeks with the promotion… Let the commission worry about all that and just write the guy off for a year no matter who it is.
Zuffa takes part in guerrilla war tactics in every other practice of Business but when it comes to these PEDs issues it’s like the world stops for a month… Fuck that noise.

‘Reem made White and Zuffa look bad. They gave him a title shot, publicized it, and then he gets caught. If White/Zuffa shrug it off, it discredits UFC and the sport. If White and Zuffa say they didn’t know and suggest it doesn’t matter, then other fighters will do the same thing, making White/Zuffa/UFC look like chumps or crooks. Lie to your boss or your business associates and make them look bad publicly, you deserve what you get. And suggesting other liars/cheaters/crooks got less punishment just makes you look like a bitch, too.

Obviously Dana is pissed about being questioned about PEDs a lot, and Overeem’s test definitely made it a hot button issue but he’s not the worst. This is a Dana White trademark tantrum.

Leben’s been popped several times, plus his DUIs, Sonnen almost turned the middleweight belt into a complete joke with his failed test (thankfully he lost), plus the money laundering (not a small crime). Hell, the UFC even defended Quinton in court when he went on his Redbull-fuelled ‘rampage’ in a monster truck.

I don’t blame Dana for being pissed. His cartoonish simplifications of things do irk me, though.